Compliance monitoring

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and related technologies for device compliance monitoring are described. In certain aspects, one or more compliance rules associated with a device classification are used to determine a compliance level of a device. The one or more compliance rules may be based on a standard. An action can be initiated based on the compliance level.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure relate to networkmonitoring, and more specifically, to checking device compliance andremediation of device compliance issues.

BACKGROUND

As technology advances, the number and variety of devices that areconnected to communications networks are rapidly increasing. Each devicemay have its own respective vulnerabilities which may leave the networkopen to compromise or other risks. Understanding the vulnerabilities oneach device on a network can be useful for monitoring or securing thecommunication network in order to prevent unauthorized or rogue devicesfrom accessing network resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure will be understoodmore fully from the detailed description given below and from theaccompanying drawings of various aspects and implementations of thedisclosure, which, however, should not be taken to limit the disclosureto the specific aspects or implementations, but are for explanation andunderstanding only.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative communication network in accordance withone implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram of aspects of a method for monitoringdevice compliance in accordance with one implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts illustrative components of a system for compliancemonitoring in accordance with one implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system, inaccordance with one implementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure are directed todevice classification. The systems and methods disclosed can be employedwith respect to network security, among other fields. More particularly,it can be appreciated that access to network resources by unauthorizeddevices is a significant and growing problem. At the same time, theproliferation of network-connected devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets,wearable devices, etc.) can make it difficult to effectively manageaccess to network resources for those users or devices that areauthorized. Accordingly, described herein in various implementations aresystems, methods, techniques, and related technologies, that enable theongoing monitoring of network devices and activity and provide theability to control access to network resources (e.g., by defining andemploying access policies which dictate the types of devices that are orare not authorized to access certain network resources, thecircumstances under which such access is or is not permitted, etc.).

In order to ensure compliant configurations of electronic devices orcomputing devices within a network, administrators typically try toensure that computing devices are configured in particular ways. Thishas traditionally been done using “golden images” and manualconfiguration checks. The golden image may be a computing system imagethat has been customized to a particular configuration that may becopied onto multiple computing systems or devices.

Automated device compliance can be difficult to determine and to reviewwith existing methodologies. Further, devices may fail to maintaincompliance, e.g., when the devices are not kept up to date followingintentional or unintentional user configuration changes. Typicalcompliance scanning requires individually identifying and entering an IPaddress of a device to be scanned for compliance as well as a schedulefor when to scan the devices. This can present a significant burden toan information technology (IT) administrator.

Compliance checks and associated remediation may thus be automated toensure that computing devices are compliant including in dynamic networkenvironments. Automated compliance can be performed using a standardbased compliance protocol, e.g., secure content automation protocol(SCAP). SCAP is a set of open standard XML based languages for writingconfiguration benchmarks for computing devices. SCAP can also be used tocreate a benchmark of vulnerabilities that devices should not contain.

Accordingly, described herein in various implementations are systems,methods, techniques, and related technologies, which combine standardsbased compliance with policy based network access control. As describedherein, a device communicatively coupled to a network can be scannedusing standard based compliance rules (e.g., SCAP rules) and acompliance level is computed. Based on the compliance level, a level ofnetwork access and one or more remediation or information actions may beperformed. The compliance checks may be automated and performedperiodically (e.g., at regular intervals of time, from time to time, orfrequently) to ensure compliance is maintained.

Network access control and compliance monitoring may be done using thecreation of policies which evaluate device compliance and based on thelevel of compliance, perform one or more control actions which grant (ordeny) the device a defined (e.g., or predefined) level of access, andremediation actions which attempt to fix compliance issues on thedevice.

The policy may thus specify what devices are scanned for compliance andwhen the devices are scanned for compliance. Embodiments may thusautomatically (e.g., without user intervention) select what devices willbe scanned for compliance and when the devices will be scanned.

Solutions, e.g., including a network access control (NAC) solution, canbe used to automate the determination of which devices to scan and whento scan the devices for compliance. This can include scanning a newlydiscovered device upon communicative coupling to a network. Thesolutions can further ensure compliance and remediation of anydiscovered instances of non-compliance.

The solutions can automatically determine (e.g., without userintervention, based on preconfigured policies, or a combination thereof)which compliance benchmarks apply to which devices and performcompliance checks according to compliance rules of the compliancebenchmark. The results of a compliance scan can include identifiers foreach rule, results for the rule, and the associated IP address. Actioncan be taken then based on the results for the set of rules includingbased on a weighting of the rules. For example, if a device passes only75% of the rules, the device may be quarantined to a particular networkor virtual local area network (VLAN) and optionally a message includinginformation about the device may be sent to an IT administrator. Theautomatic nature of various aspects of the solutions allows forcompliance monitoring and associated actions to be performed, asdescribed herein, without user-intervention. The compliance monitoringand actions can be also performed real-time or within specified timeconstraints for particular conditions. For example, a device added tothe network may be checked for compliance within a predetermined amountof time (e.g., 5 seconds).

The scanning of a device may be performed based on the detection of thedevice or readmission of the device (e.g., a computer being restated orbeing brought into an office for first time of the day) to a network orwith a periodic frequency (e.g., a device may be scanned periodicallyaccording to a predetermined period of time such as 24 hours). Thesolutions disclosed herein, thus allow for automated and continuouscompliance checks that previously were manual compliance checks appliedto individual IP addresses. Automated and prompt remediation is alsosupported.

Using available standard based compliance content (e.g., open and closedsource SCAP content) available, organizations can program a NAC solutionto check device compliance using pre-written, authoritative,standardized rule-set, or a combination thereof in the form ofstandardized content (e.g., SCAP content). This allows the directlinking of compliance within a NAC product to the results of acompliance scan based on the content (e.g., SCAP content). Remediationcan be attempted (e.g., automatically) for specific compliance failuresand grant or denial of network access to a device can be based on thecomputed compliance level.

Advantageously, the use of standards based compliance content (e.g.,SCAP content) is not dependent on or related to the particular NACsolution being used. Further, the compliance check can be definedtechnically (e.g., using XML) and therefore avoid misinterpretations ormisconfigurations as can happen with a prose-based configurationchecklist being input to a NAC based policy engine.

Embodiments can use information about the devices on a network, e.g.,the IP address and active status, to automate compliance scanning ofdevices and further compliance scanning of particular devices. In orderto effectively implement network access policies, it may be advantageousto identify, classify, or otherwise determine various aspects, features,or characteristics of devices that are connected to a network or whatthe devices are (or are not) doing on the network. For example, thecompliance scans can be performed on selected devices communicativelycoupled to a network that have been classified as having a particularoperating system, e.g., Microsoft Windows™. Embodiments can thus removethe need for network administrators to have to manually specific IPaddresses or IP address ranges for compliance scanning.

Accordingly, it can be appreciated that the described technologies aredirected to and address specific technical challenges and longstandingdeficiencies in multiple technical areas, including but not limited tonetwork security, monitoring, and policy enforcement. It can be furtherappreciated that the described technologies provide specific, technicalsolutions to the referenced technical challenges and unmet needs in thereferenced technical fields.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative communication network 100, in accordancewith one implementation of the present disclosure. The communicationnetwork 100 includes a compliance monitoring device 102, a networkdevice 104, and devices 120-124. The devices 120-124 and may be any of avariety of devices including, but not limited to, computing systems,laptops, smartphones, servers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. Itis noted that the devices of communication network 100 may communicatein a variety of ways including wired and wireless connections and mayuse one or more of a variety of protocols.

Network device 104 may be one or more network devices configured tofacilitate communication among compliance monitoring device 102 anddevices 120-124. Network device 104 may be one or more network switches,access points, routers, firewalls, hubs, etc.

Compliance monitoring device 102 may be configured for a variety oftasks including performing compliance benchmarking or scanning ofdevices 120-124. Compliance monitoring device 102 may be a computingsystem, a network device (e.g., router, firewall, access point), anetwork access control (NAC) device, an intrusion prevention system(IPS), an intrusion detection system (IDS), a deception device, acloud-based device, a virtual machine based system, etc. Compliancemonitoring device 102 may communicate with different network devices andsecurity products (not shown) (e.g., a vulnerability assessment (VA)system, a threat detection (TD) system, a mobile device management (MDM)system, a firewall (FW) system, a switch system, or an access pointsystem) to access information that may be used for classification ofdevices coupled to network 100. Compliance monitoring device 102 may becommunicatively coupled to the network device 104 in such a way as toreceive network traffic flowing through the network device 104 (e.g.,port mirroring).

Compliance monitoring device 102 is configured to access one or morepolicies which identify compliance rules (e.g., according to a standardsuch as SCAP) and associated actions based on the compliance benchmarksor levels that result from the compliance rules to be applied toparticular devices. The compliance benchmark may be in an extensibleconfiguration checklist description format (XCCDF) and include one ormore SCAP rules, e.g., defined using the open vulnerability andassessment language (OVAL). The compliance rules may have weightsassociated therewith thereby enabling the calculating of a compliancescore or level, e.g., as a percentage or a number of points. Forexample, one rule may be worth two points (e.g., whether the machine hasan up to date word processor program) while another rule may be worthten points (e.g., whether the machine has an up to date set ofanti-virus definitions).

The actions may include restricting network access to a particular level(e.g., full, limited, or no network access), remediation actions (e.g.,triggering patch systems or services, triggering update systems orservices, triggering third party product action, etc.), informationalactions (e.g., sending an email notification to a user or ITadministrator or creating an IT ticket reflecting the level ofcompliance), and logging actions (e.g., logging or storing thecompliance level).

Compliance monitoring device 102 may initiate a compliance scan of adevice upon the device being detected or communicatively coupled to anetwork. Compliance monitoring device 102 may further initiatecompliance scans on a periodic basis or time since the last scan of adevice (e.g., if it has been greater than 24 hours since the devices wasscanned).

For example, upon the detection of device 120 being added to a networkand being determined to be a Windows™ 7 device, several SCAP rules maybe accessed according to a policy that applies to Windows™ 7 devices.Compliance scanning of the device can then be performed to determine acompliance level. For example, if the compliance level is 20% or below,then operating system updates may be initiated via an update managementsystem on the network (not shown) to attempt to update the device andincrease compliance. The device may then be rescanned and upon obtaininga compliance level of 80% or above, compliance monitoring device 102 maygrant the device network access.

With reference to FIG. 2, flowchart 200 illustrates example functionsused by various embodiments. Although specific function blocks(“blocks”) are disclosed in flowchart 200, such steps are examples. Thatis, embodiments are well suited to performing various other blocks orvariations of the blocks recited in flowchart 200. It is appreciatedthat the blocks in flowchart 200 may be performed in an order differentthan presented, and that not all of the blocks in flowchart 200 may beperformed.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram of aspects of a method for monitoringdevice compliance in accordance with one implementation of the presentdisclosure. The flow chart 200 of FIG. 2 may be performed by compliancemonitoring device 102 or any system configured to monitor devicecompliance, initiate actions in response to compliance issues, or acombination thereof.

At block 202, compliance rules are accessed. The compliance rules may beaccording to a standard including open and closed standards and beaccessed according to a policy, as described herein. The compliancerules may be SCAP rules. The compliance rules may be accessed from astorage or downloaded from a website or other network source. Thecompliance rules may be user customized. For example, a user could opena compliance rules file (e.g., with an extensible markup language (XML)editor) and remove one or more rules or modify one or more weightsassociated with the rules.

At block 204, whether a new device is detected is determined. The devicemay be detected as part of a periodic scan of the network (e.g., a scanof network 100 by compliance monitoring device 102) or the device may bedetected upon being communicatively coupled to the network (e.g., beingcommunicatively coupled to network device 104). The detecting of thedevice coupled to the network may include detecting the device inresponse to the device being recoupled or readmitted to the network. Ifa new device is detected block 208 is performed. If a new device is notdetected, block 206 is performed.

At block 206, a list of devices is accessed. The list may be a list ofdevices (e.g., devices 120-124) coupled to a network (e.g., network100). For example, the list may be maintained by a NAC device (e.g.,compliance monitoring device 104).

At block 208, classifications of one or more devices is determined. Theclassification may be determined based on a variety of informationincluding, but not limited to, the MAC address of the device, theuser-agent string of the device, traffic information (e.g., IP address,ports or protocols being used, etc.), information from an agent,information from other systems (e.g., third party systems) or devices,etc. The third party system can be a vulnerability assessment (VA)system, a threat detection (TD) or advanced TD system, a mobile devicemanagement (MDM) system, a firewall (FW) system, a switch system, and anaccess point (AP) system.

The classifications may be stored and updated or rechecked periodicallyas more information about a device becomes available. The time forrechecking classification may be a configurable frequency or interval.For example, the interval could be set to a relatively long period oftime for a network that is expected to be relatively stable with a smallnumber, if any, of new devices being introduced.

At block 210, a compliance scan based on a policy is initiated. The scanmay be based on a policy that has a portion (e.g., particular or asubset) of compliance rules that are to apply to one or more devicesbased on the classification of the devices. The scan may be triggeredbased on the policy.

At block 212, a compliance benchmark level is determined based on thescan results. The compliance level can be determined based on the resultof the scan according to each rule (e.g., whether the device meets acondition of a rule) and a weight assigned to each rule (e.g., a certainnumber of points or a percentage assigned to each rule). Compliance witha particular rule can be weighted to reflect the critical nature orimportance of complying with a particular rule. For example, a ruleassociated with having anti-virus updates that are no more than two daysold or a rule associated with having a password that is at least tencharacters long could be weighted to be associated with 50% or 50 pointsof the compliance level thereby making compliance with the rule criticalfor a passing compliance level (e.g., and allowing access to thenetwork).

At block 220, whether the compliance level is above a first threshold isdetermined. For example, the first threshold may be 70 percentcompliance, so a device with a compliance level that is 70 percent orabove will be granted a relatively high level of network access while adevice with a compliance level below the first threshold may be granteddifferent network access, if any. If the compliance level is above thefirst threshold, block 222 is performed. If the compliance level is notabove the first threshold, block 230 is performed.

At block 222, full or substantially full network access is granted. Thislevel of network access may be granted to devices that have little(e.g., minor) or no compliance issues as determined from the compliancescan.

At block 224, one or more actions are optionally performed on the devicebased on the compliance level. The actions may include remediationactions, logging information, or information actions. The remediationaction can include signaling a patching service or system (e.g., on thenetwork or on the device), signaling an update service or system (e.g.,on the network or on the device), changing the network access of adevice (e.g., changing the VLAN), and sending a notification (e.g., anemail or creating an information technology (IT) ticket). The logginginformation can include logging the compliance level and the results ofthe compliance scan for each rule. The information action can includesending an email based on the compliance results (e.g., for thecompliance level being above the first threshold) or creating an ITticket.

It is appreciated that the actions taken for devices having a compliancelevel greater than the first threshold may be more informational andless restrictive or less remedial in nature while informational actionsand actions of a more restrictive or remedial nature (e.g., limitednetwork access) may be taken for devices with a compliance level lessthan the first threshold. Informational actions and actions with anincreased restrictive or remedial nature (e.g., denying network access)may be taken for the devices that have compliance levels below thesecond threshold.

At block 230, whether the compliance level is above a second thresholdis determined. For example, the second threshold may be 50 percentcompliance, so a device with a compliance level that is between 50 and70 percent will be granted limited network access. It is appreciatedthat embodiments may support more or less thresholds or compliancelevels than shown in flow chart 200. If the compliance level is abovethe second threshold, block 232 is performed. If the compliance level isnot above the first threshold, block 240 is performed.

At block 232, limited network access is granted. The limited access maylimit the device to accessing only particular sites, e.g., those of ananti-virus provider or malware update provider, in order to enable thedevice to obtain updates or patches to increase the compliance level ofthe device.

At block 234, one or more actions based on compliance are optionallyperformed. The actions may include the actions described herein (e.g.,with respect to block 224). The actions may be further customized basedon the compliance level. For example, multiple actions may be taken andthe actions may be taken in order to remedy specific areas of lack ofcompliance. Block 236 may be performed after block 234.

The actions may be performed according to a security policy whichspecifies the compliance rules to be applied and the actions to beperformed based on the compliance level. Security policy actions may beapplied in real-time.

In some embodiments, a security policy may be created based on theclassification of the device. For example, if the device classified isan industrial control system, a security policy may be configuredaccording to a default security policy for industrial controls systemwhich prevents the industrial control system from accessing theInternet.

At block 236, whether it is time to recheck compliance is determined.The time to recheck compliance may be based on a policy value, e.g.,that devices are to be checked for compliance every 24 hours. Theinterval could also be set to a shorter period of time if the network isvery dynamic and frequently has new devices being introduced or devicesbeing reintroduced. The time for rechecking compliance may be triggeredfor based on a device being coupled to the network or a different partof the network. If it is time for a rechecking of compliance, block 210is performed. If it is not time for a rechecking of compliance, block236 is performed.

At block 240, remediation actions are triggered or attempted. Theactions may include the actions described herein (e.g., described withrespect to block 224). In some embodiments, the device that has acompliance level below the first and second thresholds is not grantednetwork access or relatively restricted network access. Block 242 may beperformed after one or more attempts at remediation have been performed.

At block 242, network access is restricted. The network access may berestricted to particular internal network resources (e.g., patchservices, update services, or definitions services) or particularexternal resources. The network access may be relatively morerestrictive than other levels of network access (e.g., the limitednetwork access granted when the compliance is above the second thresholdof block 232). This may be done for a device that has a compliance levelbelow one or more thresholds and one or more remediation action attemptshave been unsuccessful. One or more actions may performed, as describedherein, including sending an email, creating an IT ticket, or otherinformational action to document the results of the compliance scans ofthe device and the unsuccessful remediation actions. This may be used tokeep rogue or malicious devices from accessing a network or portionsthereof. Network access may also be blocked.

FIG. 3 illustrates example components used by various embodiments.Although specific components are disclosed in system 300, it should beappreciated that such components are examples. That is, embodiments ofthe present invention are well suited to having various other componentsor variations of the components recited in system 300. It is appreciatedthat the components in system 300 may operate with other components thanthose presented, and that not all of the components of system 300 may berequired to achieve the goals of system 300.

FIG. 3 depicts illustrative components of a system for deviceclassification in accordance with one implementation of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 3 shows an example system 300 including a networkcommunication interface 302, a device detection component 304, a ruleaccess component 306, a device classifier 308, a compliance checkercomponent 310, a remediation component 312, a logging component 314, andan information component 316. The components of system 300 may be partof a computing system or other electronic device (e.g., compliancemonitoring device 102) or a virtual machine and be configured to checkcompliance of one or more devices communicatively coupled to a network.For example, the system 300 may further include a memory and aprocessing device, operatively coupled to the memory, which may performthe functions of or execute the components of system 300. The componentsof system 300 may access various data associated with a device,compliance rules, compute a compliance level, and trigger actions basedon the compliance level of the device. It is appreciated that themodular nature of system 300 may allow the components to be independentand allow flexibility to enable or disable individual components or toextent/upgrade components without affecting other components therebyproviding scalability and extensibility.

Network communication interface 302 is configured to communicate withone or more devices (e.g., network device 104) coupled to a network thatare coupled to system 300 and communicate devices on the network orreceive or access network traffic, as described herein.

Device detection component 304 is configured to detect when a device iscommunicatively coupled to a network, powers on, or is readmitted to thenetwork, as described herein. Device detection component 304 may signalother components (e.g., device classifier 308 or compliance checker 310)that a device is now communicatively coupled to a network.

Rule access component 306 is operable to access compliance rules (e.g.,standard based compliance rules, like SCAP) for use in performingcompliance checks, as described herein. The rules may be vendorindependent thereby allowing one or more devices from different vendorsto access and perform compliance checks.

Classification determiner 308 is configured to determine aclassification of a device based on one or more information sources, asdescribed herein. Classification determiner 308 may further store adevice type classification of the device. Classification determiner 308may be configured to determine the device type classification of thedevice periodically, as described herein.

Compliance checker 310 is operable to perform compliance checks,according to a policy, based on compliance rules (e.g., accessed by ruleaccess component 306) of one or more devices based on a respectivedevice classification (e.g., determined by classification determiner308), as described herein. Compliance checker 310 can further determinea compliance level for each device based on the compliance rules.Compliance checker 310 can signal remediation component 312, loggingcomponent 314, and information component 316 to take appropriate actionbased on each compliance level, as described herein.

Remediation component 312 is operable for initiating or triggering oneor more remediation actions, as described herein. Remediation component312 may restrict network access, signal a patch system or service,signal an update system or service, or initiate an action to address oneor more compliance issues, as described herein. The remediationcomponent 312 may thus, among other things, automatically patch,automatically update, and automatically restrict network access of adevice.

Logging component 314 is operable to log information about compliancechecks including information of machines or devices that have passedcompliance checks, attempted compliance checks that fail, and compliancelevels computed as a result of compliance checks.

Information component 316 is operable for storing or sending informationabout or resulting from compliance checks, as described herein. Forexample, information component 316 may send an email notification abouta compliance check result (e.g., below a compliance level threshold) orcreate an IT ticket.

The system 300 may be software stored on a non-transitory computerreadable medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executedby a processing device, cause the processing device to: determine aclassification of a plurality of devices and access compliance dataassociated with the classification of the plurality of devices. Thecompliance data can include a plurality of compliance rules and arespective weight associated with each compliance rule and the pluralityof compliance rules are based on a standard (e.g., SCAP).

The processing device is further to perform a respective compliance scanof each of the plurality of devices based on the plurality of compliancerules and determine a respective compliance level for each of theplurality of devices. The respective compliance level is determinedbased on the plurality of compliance rules and the respective weightassociated with each compliance rule. The processing device is furtherto initiate an action based on the compliance level for each device ofthe plurality of devices.

The action can include logging information associated with a device ofthe plurality of devices and sending a notification associated with adevice of the plurality of devices. In some embodiments, the processingdevice is further to compare the compliance level of a device with afirst threshold and the action is further based on the comparison of thecompliance level of the device with the first threshold. In variousembodiments, the processing device is further to compare the compliancelevel of a device with a second threshold and the action can further bebased on the comparison of the compliance level of the device with thesecond threshold. In some embodiments, the processing device is furtherto modify a weight associated with one of the compliance rules (e.g., amodification of a weight initiated by a user).

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theexample form of a computer system 400 within which a set ofinstructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternativeembodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines in a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or theInternet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a webappliance, a server, a network router, a switch or bridge, a hub, anaccess point, a network access control device, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein. In one embodiment, computer system400 may be representative of a server, such as compliance monitoringdevice 102 configured to perform compliance monitoring or the functionsof system 300.

The exemplary computer system 400 includes a processing device 402, amain memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory,static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device418, which communicate with each other via a bus 430. Any of the signalsprovided over various buses described herein may be time multiplexedwith other signals and provided over one or more common buses.Additionally, the interconnection between circuit components or blocksmay be shown as buses or as single signal lines. Each of the buses mayalternatively be one or more single signal lines and each of the singlesignal lines may alternatively be buses.

Processing device 402 represents one or more general-purpose processingdevices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like.More particularly, the processing device may be complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computer (RISC)microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, orprocessor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device 402may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor,or the like. The processing device 402 is configured to executeprocessing logic 426, which may be one example of system 300 shown inFIG. 3, for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The data storage device 418 may include a machine-readable storagemedium 428, on which is stored one or more set of instructions 422(e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies offunctions described herein, including instructions to cause theprocessing device 402 to execute compliance analyzer 300. Theinstructions 422 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 404 or within the processing device 402 duringexecution thereof by the computer system 400; the main memory 404 andthe processing device 402 also constituting machine-readable storagemedia. The instructions 422 may further be transmitted or received overa network 420 via the network interface device 408.

The machine-readable storage medium 428 may also be used to storeinstructions to perform a method for compliance monitoring, as describedherein. While the machine-readable storage medium 428 is shown in anexemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readablestorage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiplemedia (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing informationin a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine(e.g., a computer). The machine-readable medium may include, but is notlimited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); opticalstorage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read-onlymemory (ROM); random-access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory(e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or another type of mediumsuitable for storing electronic instructions.

The preceding description sets forth numerous specific details such asexamples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, inorder to provide a good understanding of several embodiments of thepresent disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art,however, that at least some embodiments of the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncomponents or methods are not described in detail or are presented insimple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringthe present disclosure. Thus, the specific details set forth are merelyexemplary. Particular embodiments may vary from these exemplary detailsand still be contemplated to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiments included inat least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.”

Additionally, some embodiments may be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where the machine-readable medium is stored on and orexecuted by more than one computer system. In addition, the informationtransferred between computer systems may either be pulled or pushedacross the communication medium connecting the computer systems.

Embodiments of the claimed subject matter include, but are not limitedto, various operations described herein. These operations may beperformed by hardware components, software, firmware, or a combinationthereof.

Although the operations of the methods herein are shown and described ina particular order, the order of the operations of each method may bealtered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse orderor so that certain operation may be performed, at least in part,concurrently with other operations. In another embodiment, instructionsor sub-operations of distinct operations may be in an intermittent oralternating manner.

The above description of illustrated implementations of the invention,including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.While specific implementations of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. The words “example” or“exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, orillustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “example” or“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the words“example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in a concretefashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to meanan inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unlessspecified otherwise, or clear from context, “X includes A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “X includesA or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition,the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appendedclaims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform. Moreover, use of the term “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or“an implementation” or “one implementation” throughout is not intendedto mean the same embodiment or implementation unless described as such.Furthermore, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. asused herein are meant as labels to distinguish among different elementsand may not necessarily have an ordinal meaning according to theirnumerical designation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting a device coupledto a network; determining a classification of the device; accessing acompliance rule based on the classification of the device, wherein thecompliance rule is a standard based compliance rule; performing, by aprocessing device, a compliance scan on the device based on thecompliance rule; determining a compliance level of the device based on aresult of the compliance scan of the device; and performing an actionbased on the compliance level.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thecompliance rule is a compliance standard based compliance rule.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the compliance rule is a security contentautomation protocol (SCAP) rule.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thecompliance rule and the action are associated with a security policy. 5.The method of claim 4 further comprising: performing another compliancescan of the device based on the security policy.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the detecting of the device coupled to the network comprisesdetecting the device in response to the device being coupled to thenetwork.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises changingnetwork access of the device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thecompliance scan of the device is performed automatically according to asecurity policy.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the compliance ruleis associated with a weight and the compliance level is based on theweight.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprisesautomatically initiating an update service associated with the device.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises initiating apatch service associated with the device.
 12. A system comprising: amemory; and a processing device, operatively coupled to the memory, to:determine a classification of a plurality of devices; access compliancedata associated with the classification of the plurality of devices,wherein the compliance data comprises a plurality of compliance rulesand a respective weight associated with each compliance rule and whereinthe plurality of compliance rules are based on a standard; perform arespective compliance scan of each of the plurality of devices based onthe plurality of compliance rules; determine a respective compliancelevel for each of the plurality of devices, wherein the respectivecompliance level is determined based on the plurality of compliancerules and the respective weight associated with each compliance rule;and initiate an action based on the compliance level for each device ofthe plurality of devices.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the actioncomprises logging information associated with a device of the pluralityof devices.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the action comprisessending a notification associated with a device of the plurality ofdevices.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the processing device isfurther to compare the compliance level of a device with a firstthreshold and the action is further based on the comparison of thecompliance level of the device with the first threshold.
 16. The systemof claim 15, wherein the processing device is further to compare thecompliance level of a device with a second threshold and the action isfurther based on the comparison of the compliance level of the devicewith the second threshold.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein theprocessing device is further to modify a weight associated with one ofthe compliance rules.
 18. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processingdevice, cause the processing device to: detect a device being coupled toa network; determine a classification of the device; access a pluralityof compliance rules associated with the classification of the device,wherein the plurality of compliance rules are associated with astandard; determine a compliance level of the device based on theplurality of compliance rules; compare, by the processing device, thecompliance level to a threshold; initiate a first action based on thecompliance level being above the threshold; and initiate a second actionbased on the compliance level being below the threshold.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein thecompliance level is based on a respective weight associated with each ofthe plurality of compliance rules.
 20. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 18, wherein the compliance scan of the deviceis performed automatically and periodically.